Over the past year, the Lord has consistently shown me the importance of digging into Biblical context, and how the addition or lack of it plays a huge role in shaping the way we understand Scripture.
In Matthew 6:22, Jesus says, “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light.” We want healthy eyes! Eyes that can perceive more than just our modern, Western perspective. So allow me to share 3 contextually hearty books that that will give you more depth and understanding as you read your Bible.
1.
This book literally had jaw drop and lightbulb moments for me. You know the saying, “you don’t know what you don’t know” well, in the best way, this book showed me how little I knew! If you want to better understand Jesus, His teachings, and how He would have been heard by the people in His time and region, this is where I’d start. This book is extremely well written—meaning it’s clear, thorough, and will hook you in the first chapter. Kenneth E. Bailey provides so much insight into the culture that Jesus was a part of, and his insights help us to see Jesus and read the Bible with more depth, humility and understanding.
Every disciple and aspiring disciple of Christ would benefit from this book. It really helps us better understand Jesus underneath the myths, assumptions, and misconceptions that have formed thanks to centuries of time and a lack of cultural understanding.
This book is so refreshing and truly enlightening; I can’t recommend it enough!
2.
Co-authors Richards and James do an excellent job highlighting the themes of patronage, honor, and shame, showing how deep and integral these themes were to the collectivist culture of the Middle East and the Biblical world.
As a 30-something, Southern California born and raised woman, I can easily state that patronage, honor, and shame are not emphasized or valued aspects of my culture. But these things literally shaped the way the Bible was written, heard, and understood! As someone who loves to study the Bible, this book was insightful and so helpful filling contextual gaps that I didn’t even know were there.
Misreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes x Randolph Richards & Richard James
3.
Buckle up, babe! This book will blow your mind and stretch your perspective of how Israel came to know and worship Yahweh in the ancient world.
The story of Yahweh’s development in Israel had me all over the place emotionally. I don’t know how many books you’ve read on the early history of God, but before this book my understanding of how God came to be known was all based on the Bible, which is great, and foundational. But I’m sure, like me, you’ve had questions and this book gives you a lot to wrestle with.
Smith shows the progressive emergence of Yahweh in a world full of deities and he presents archeological and historical evidence for how Israel came to understand Yahweh as not merely a regional God, but as God Almighty.
Now, I would not describe this book as a light read. It is not an introduction to the Bible and it’s definitely more of an advanced read. The footnotes are dense, and there were many things that I had to look up but it does an extremely good job presenting ancient context around Israels worship and understanding of Yahweh.
The Early History of God – Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel x Mark Smith
It is a privilege to share the books and resources that have shaped me, challenged me, and helped me approach Scripture with care. My hope is that these reads bless you the way they’ve blessed me, and that they give you fresh eyes as you continue seeking God through His Word. I’ll be sharing more books and resources in the future, but for now, these three are a solid place to start.
Affiliate note: Some links may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them, at no extra cost to you.
If you enjoyed this post and want to see more like this directly in your email inbox, subscribe below!